How can I tell what size bat my son should use?

Players come in all types of shapes and sizes. Some are short and stocky, others are tall and thin. When I am sizing up a player for a bat, I will have them take a bat and hold it all the way to the end of the knob with their strong hand and hold the bat out straight in front of them. They must hold the palm down and keep the bat up for 10 seconds. If they can do this then usually the bat is good for them. But you want the heaviest bat that you can do this drill with.

Posted by Duke Baxter at 11:28 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My 10-year-old son is a pitcher. What’s the maximum number of pitches he should throw in a game or per week?

This is a very good question. I believe that it is not the number of innings a pitcher throws that is important but the pitch count per inning. When the pitch count gets into the 20s and especially the 30s, which is when the strain comes to the arm. If a pitcher is throwing 10-14 pitches an inning he can last 6 innings. But when a pitcher throws 75 pitches in 2 innings he will wear down much faster and be more prone to injury.

After studying this issue the past two seasons, Little League Baseball has implemented a pitch count for 2007 to help protect pitchers arms. Click here to read an article with all the details.

Posted by Duke Baxter at 11:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)